Germany's lost cities: Stettin

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Adam Carr
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Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#1

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:41

In May 2008 I spent three weeks travelling in Poland. I was particularly interested to visit four major Polish cities which were once part of Germany – Szczecin (Stettin), Gdansk (Danzig), Wroclaw (Breslau) and Poznan (Posen). I also passed through Olsztyn (Allenstein) on my way to the Wolf’s Lair at Rastenburg. I had read that these cities were almost totally destroyed in the last months of World War II, and that there is little to see of their German heritage, but I found this to be far from true. In all these cities many fine German buildings and monuments have survived, or have been restored by the Poles.

In presenting these photos and commentary, I make it clear that I have no sympathy with any residual German claims to these cities, which have been Polish for more than sixty years. The loss of these eastern territories involved a great deal of suffering for the German population, but this was the price that Germany paid for its enthusiasm for Hitler’s regime and its aggression against Poland in 1939.

This hydrant cover set into a footpath is one of many small reminders that Szczecin was once the German city of Stettin.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#2

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:42

This is the Altes Rathaus (old town hall), on the Heumarkt or Haymarket (Rynek Sienny), a masterpiece of brick gothic architecture built in the 15th century. This building is the sole survivor of the Stettin Altstadt (Old Town), which was mostly flattened in 1945. It was originally known as the Neues Rathaus because it replaced an older one on the same site. When a much bigger Rathaus was built on another site in 1869, this building became a restaurant. It was badly damaged in World War II, and after many years as a derelict ruin it was restored in 1968. It now houses a restaurant and museum.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#3

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:42

This is the Rathaus built in 1869, now known as the Czerwony Ratusz (Red Town Hall), built in the red brick gothic revival style typical of 19th century Prussian civic architecture. The building still houses parts of the Szczecin city administration.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#4

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:43

Here we see the gothic detailing of the Rathaus in greater detail, particularly the windows with pointed arches and the mullioned window with a trefoil above it, seen at the top.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#5

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:43

This is the General Landschaft building on Parade Platz (now Aleja Niepodległości), built in a German style known as Jugendstil (youth style), which had both gothic and classicist elements. This facade seems more classical than gothic to me – note the Corinthian columns and pediment above the ornate portico. The General Landschaft was a Prussian bank and credit house for landowners. The building still houses a bank today.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#6

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:44

According to several sources, the General Landschaft building was designed by the Stettin architect Emil Drews in 1891-95, but above the pediment there is a column with the date 1781 on it. I don’t know what this refers to. The column is supporting a Pomeranian gryphon carrying a shield with the initial R on it. I don’t what this refers to either. The gryphon was the heraldic symbol of the Dukes of Pomerania, as it still is of the Polish Pomorze region.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#7

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:44

The street next to the General Landschaft building was called Greifenstrasse: Gryphon Street (now Ulica Bogurodzicy). On the other side of Greifenstrasse stood the Oberpostdirektion (General Post Office), built in an ornate red brick gothic style in 1905. The building now houses the Szczecin offices of the Polish Post Office and the Polish Telecommunications Board.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#8

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:45

A feature of this building are the decorative vertical facades, which echo the gothic facade of the old Rathaus, shown above. These are made of glazed stonework.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#9

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:45

Stettin was a fortified town, known as Festung Stettin (Fortress Stettin), frequently contested between Prussia and Sweden. The city’s walls were demolished in the 19th century, but two gates survive. One is the Brandenburger Tor or Berliner Tor (Brandenburg Gate or Berlin Gate), now called the Brama Portowa (Port Gate). The Berliner Tor stood facing onto Linden Strasse (now Aleja 3 Maja).
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#10

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:46

The Berliner Tor was built in 1725 by Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia to mark his acquisition of the city from the Swedes in 1719. It was designed by the French sculptor Barthelémy Damart. The Latin inscription on the gate records that he bought the city “with a legal contract and for a fair price” (20,000 thalers, in fact).
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#11

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:47

Above the gate the initials FWR (Fridericus Wilhelmus Rex) form a monogram set into a fanciful coat of arms.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#12

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:47

The other surviving gate is the Königstor (King’s Gate), now called the Brama Krolewska (Royal Gate), facing onto Königs Platz (now Plac Żołnierza Polskiego). This gate was erected in 1725 by Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia. It is more ornate that the Berliner Tor, being decorated with reliefs of mythical beasts and agricultural scenes.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#13

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:48

As at the Berliner Tor, the king’s initials FWR (Fridericus Wilhelmus Rex) form a monogram above the gate, supported by two rather un-Prussian cherubs.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#14

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:48

The Poles have gone to some trouble to restore both gates, but have then spoiled their good work by turning both of them into cafes – not a very dignified way to treat historical monuments.
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Re: Germany's lost cities: Stettin

#15

Post by Adam Carr » 07 Jul 2009, 13:49

For the Poles, the historic heart of Szczecin is the Castle of the Dukes of Pomerania (Schloss der Herzöge von Pommern, Zamek Książąt Pomorskich). The original castle was built on this site in 1346 by Duke Barnim III, of the Polish-speaking Gryfici dynasty. The castle is thus seen as proof that Szczecin was originally a Polish city, although the Dukes of Pomerania were subjects of the (German) Holy Roman Empire from 1181. These are the castle gates.
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